Prospective paleontologists have the opportunity to get their hands dirty in the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum’s fossil preparation lab.

The museum is seeking volunteers to help clean and prepare for preservation fossils of pachyrhinosaurus, a large horned dinosaur which existed in the Late Cretaceous period roughly 70 million years ago. The fossils were collected from the Pipestone Creek bonebed field site.

“People can volunteer in our fossil preparation lab, and they can do some of this work themselves under supervision of museum staff,” said Derek Larson, the museum’s assistant curator of vertebrate paleontology. “They work hands-on with the fossils and it’s a really great experience for people who want to learn about paleontology or just contribute to a museum, or some people find it very relaxing.”

Since January 2017 when the program launched, approximately 130 fossils have been prepared by volunteers.

Larson said the preparation stage is a time-intensive process and is key in the study of fossils, therefore volunteers are crucial.

“There’s only so much that a few people can do, so the more volunteers we have, the better,” said Larson. Volunteers receive training on how to clean and prepare the fossils and how to use the tools. Some of the work involves using glue to stabilize and fix broken fossil pieces, then scraping the fossils with scalpels and dental picks grain-by-grain and brushing away debris.

Each volunteer who prepares a fossil will have their name recorded in the museum’s database alongside the piece.

“Each fossil that is prepared does go into our collection, and it is part of the record of who prepared it. So, your name will go down into our databases as the person who worked on that fossil,” Larson said. Anyone aged 12 or older can sign up, though volunteers 12-15 years old must be accompanied by an adult. No experience is necessary.

More information on the museum and volunteer programs can be found at dinomuseum.ca.

The museum is hosting its premiere fundraising event “A Night at The Museum” Saturday evening at the Pomeroy Hotel and Conference Centre. The event will feature live entertainment, games, an auction, food and drinks, and more. Find additional information regarding this event on the museum’s website.